Day Nine – Trip to Amanohashidate
We’d planned this trip more than a month in advance. We had to be at a particular spot outside Kyoto Station for a 7:00 departure, which meant another early start. I made sure Jane had a good breakfast. She was tired, but at least she could relax on the bus and save her energy for the sights ahead.
The guide had told us to arrive 20 minutes early. The bus would turn up 10 minutes before departure and leave at 7:00 sharp, so we got there at 6:30 to make sure we were ready and relaxed.
When the guide arrived, we were first to check in, which meant we got the front seats and beautiful views ahead of us for the whole day. Perfect timing—we’d been blessed!
Sure enough, the bus pulled out at exactly 7:00. Anyone arriving late would have missed it, but the guide later told us everyone expected had made it on time. She was equally clear about being back on the bus at each stop so we could return on schedule. A taxi back would cost hundreds of dollars, she warned. No one missed the bus!
The drive to our first stop took just over two and a half hours and brought us to the little fishing village of Ine. Over the years, the fishermen had built their homes right on the water’s edge, sheltering their boats from storms and keeping them close enough to watch from home. It’s been described as the Venice of Japan, but to me it was something quite different.
We had just over an hour and fifteen minutes to look around, which gave Jane time to sort herself out and left us a chance to explore. The seabirds were out in force, and I managed to spot quite a few.
The surprise of the day was a beautiful, fully grown osprey sitting on a post about 20 metres away, feeding on a fish held in its claws. What a magnificent bird! I managed to photograph it, though the spray made the picture a bit murky.
We bought a few souvenirs and a little food, had some photos taken of ourselves, then got back on the bus—on time again—for the next stop at the top end of the Amanohashidate sand spit.
From the bus, we went straight onto a small cruise boat. We could buy snacks for the birds, which I took to be black-tipped terns and small northern-hemisphere seagulls. While most people threw the food into the water, I held out my hand and the birds came straight in to take it. A wonderful experience!
I should have been looking at the sand spit, as Jane was. It was a beautiful piece of Mother Nature in the bay, but I was far too caught up with the birds.
At the other end, we got off the boat and went with the group to the chairlift. We must have waited a good half-hour for our turn, with other tour groups ahead of us, but the view from the top was magnificent.
The amusement park up there felt more like something from the 1990s, aimed at children and families rather than older adults like us. Once we’d taken in the view, we caught the chairlift back down.
Back on the bus, Jen could rest again as we headed onto the highway. She’d fallen asleep by the time we reached the twisting mountain roads, so thankfully she didn’t get bus sick at all.
Our next stop was Miriam, a village of straw-thatched houses. I understood that it dated back to about AD 600 and was one of the few villages of its kind still left in Japan.
We only had 45 minutes there, so it was a quick look around. We went inside one of the folk houses to get a feel for what life might have been like in a home like that, with a way of living going back more than a thousand years.
We also found an indigo-making site that said it produced its own materials. Jane wasn’t particularly impressed with the museum, but we had a look and made it back to the bus with two minutes to spare.
After the long ride back, we pulled into Kyoto Station at 6:00 in the evening, right on schedule. It had been a very long day, but a highly enjoyable one.
Jane went back to the apartment while I slipped into the mall to pick up some quick food to take home. We ate in the apartment: a sushi-style meal for me, of course, and a very large katsu-style sandwich for Jane, which she enjoyed.
We also had ice cream and a little crème brûlée-style dessert, one of those mass-produced treats in Japan. Jane really liked it—she’d be having a few more of those!
